Overview: There is a recent move towards the employment of dance techniques to improve the interaction of older people with their environments and reduce risks of injury. Ballet is believed to improve spatial awareness, posture, movement coordination and proprioception; and could be used to inform rehabilitation of older people. However, it is not yet known whether the skills gained from ballet training translate when performing functional activities of daily living, and the effects of ageing on movement and stability parameters are also not well understood. The study aims to understand the effect of ballet dance and ageing on movement and stability.

Service delivery can be improved by nurses and midwives effectively addressing informal complaints at ward level; whereas escalated complaints can be indicative of poor service delivery and administratively costly for NHS trusts.
In phase one of this two phase study researchers will analyse complaints data from five NHS trusts in Surrey; conduct interviews with key staff and conduct a literature review. Findings from this will inform Phase two which uses action research. Action research is a process where researchers work with service users and practitioners to agree the project interventions and to analyse findings. This study will investigate the role of nurses and midwives in responding to care concerns raised by service users in acute care settings at ward level. It will examine: the communication strategies used by nurses and midwives when care concerns are expressed by service users at ward level; how communication contributes to both the escalation and resolution of care concerns at ward level and how nurses and midwives can learn from the expression of these concerns; the knowledge, skills and qualities that nurses and midwives need to respond to expressed care concerns respectfully and effectively at ward level; and the interventions that promote and sustain effective communication for nurses and midwives to improve the experiences of service users. Working with the local Programme Lead for the Energising Excellence for Care Programme in Surrey and the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RSCH), the research team will scope information about complaints from five local NHS trusts; they will work with practitioners and service users to agree design and implement interventions to improve how nurses and midwives respond to care concerns; and evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen interventions in improving the patient experience and reducing NHS costs.

The objectives of the RESPONSE project are:

1. To develop an understanding of the role of communication by nurses and midwives in contributing to informal complaints;
2. To develop an understanding of the role of communication in nurses and midwives responding to informal complaints;
3. To identify how effective communication might be defined when discussing informal complaints with service users or their carers;
4. To understand how such forms of effective communication are fostered in staff;
5. To identify whether senior staff facilitate effective communication in junior staff in their roles as clinical leaders;
6. To explore the role of clinical leadership in understanding how nurses and midwives use effective communication in responding to informal complaints;
7. Complete two Action Research (AR) Cycles using interventions designed to foster effective communication by nurses and midwives when discussing informal complaints with service users in labour ward and acute surgery;
8. Compare service user complaints data before, during and after AR cycles in two selected areas (labour ward and acute surgery) with two other clinical areas;
9. Measure cost of staff time in handling complaints;
10. Measure the number of informal complaints progressing to formal, written complaints before, during and after the AR cycles;
11. Elicit service user views on the complaints system at the RSCH before and after the AR interventions;
12. Develop a toolkit of best practice for discussing complaints with service users.

The aim of this project, led by older people is to explore how empathy and understanding between student nurses and older people can be developed through a collaboration involving the creation of a radio play.

The CyberTraining two-year project was completed in 2011. The UK team, Helen Cowie and Pat Colliety, contributed to the research-based training manual which contains information on cyberbullying, its nature and extent in Europe, current research findings, initiatives and approaches, as well as the latest ideas on how to tackle the problem. The UK team wrote Module 4 ‘Tackling cyberbullying’ – an overview of the situation - and Module 7 ‘Working with young people’ – an experiential training package for trainers to use in schools and youth centres. Target groups in this manual are children and young people, parents and trainers.
For more information, please go to: http://www.cybertraining-project.org/

AVC@SL – the Virtual Anti-Violence Campus at Second Life Project – is now complete. The UK team based at UniS consisted of Helen Cowie, Pat Colliety and Nabil Asif. The team ran a series of lectures on bullying and cyberbullying and delivered a virtual six-week course on the prevention and reduction of school violence. These events were took place in the virtual classroom in the Adult Education Centre where Helen, Pat and Nabil, using their virtual avatar personas, gave lectures and facilitated role plays, discussions and problem-solving groups. The students – also in their virtual avatar identities - came from a wide range of countries, including Brazil, Australia, US, UK, Spain, Finland, Germany and Romania. The AVC addresses the topic of school bullying, violence, discrimination and xenophobia. The students also had access to film displays, lectures from experts in the field, a virtual resource centre and exhibitions.
To visit the AVC go to http://www.antiviolencecampus.org/

Horton K, Bryan K, Knibb W (HWRC) & Daly T (2004) An Evaluation of the Assessment and Treatment Centre at Ashford Hospital
Final report: An Evaluation of the use of fall detectors and bed occupancy sensors in responding to falls in older people

Allan H, Clawson L, Bryan K, Smith P & Pope R (2003) Evaluation of the Multi-disciplinary Learning Project at the Townend Medical Practice
Final report: 'It's stepping out of the box a bit and surprising ourselves'; a retrospective evaluationi of phase one of the multi-disciplinary learning project at Townend Medical Practice

Pope R, Finnerty G, Graham L & Magnusson C (2002) An Investigation of the Preparation and Assessment for Midwifery Practice within a range of hospital and community settings
Final report: An Investigation of the Preparation and Assessment for Midwifery Practice within a range of hospital and community settings

Pope R, Graham L, O'Driscoll M & Clawson L (2002) Evaluation of the Implementation of the ENB Quality Assurance Framework for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Education
Final report: Evaluation of the implementation of the quality assurance framework and standards for approval of higher education institutions and programmes

Arber S & Horton K (2001) International Review of Interventions in falls among older people
Final report: International Review of Interventions in falls among older people

A Study into the Feasibility of 'stepping on' and 'stepping off' points in Pre-registration Midwifery Education Programmes and the role of the Maternity Support Worker
Final report: The Results of a A Study into the Feasibility of 'stepping on' and 'stepping off' points in Pre-registration Midwifery Education Programmes and the role of the Maternity Support Worker

Evaluation of the Implementation of the Quality Assurance Framework and Standards for Approval of Higher Education Institutions and Programmes. English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery & Health Visiting - February 2002 (ENB Highlights No.50)